Non-B Work Visa: What Your Employer Needs to Provide
Before a foreign employee ever reaches an immigration counter for a Non-B visa, their employer has to clear a separate set of hurdles entirely on the company side. This is the part of the process that determines whether an application can even be submitted, and it is worth understanding in detail, whether you are the employer preparing to sponsor someone, or the employee wanting to check that your company genuinely qualifies.
Registered Capital: It Depends on the Company Structure
The amount of paid-up registered capital required per foreign employee is not a single fixed number. It depends on how the company is owned:
A standard Thai-majority company (foreign ownership capped at 49%, the most common structure) needs 2,000,000 THB in fully paid-up registered capital for each foreign employee it sponsors.
If the foreign employee is legally married to a Thai national, this is reduced to 1,000,000 THB for that employee.
If the foreign employee holds Thai permanent residency (the blue house book), there is generally no registered capital requirement tied to that individual at all.
A foreign-majority-owned company, typically one operating under a Foreign Business License, faces a higher threshold of 3,000,000 THB per foreign employee.
This capital must be genuinely paid up, not simply declared on paper. Wanting to sponsor a second foreign employee means doubling the applicable amount, and so on for each additional foreign work permit.
The Thai Employee Ratio
Alongside capital, the company must employ at least 4 Thai nationals for every 1 foreign employee it sponsors. These Thai employees need to be real, paid at least the legal minimum wage for the province (roughly 330 to 370 THB per day in 2026, depending on location), and genuinely working, not simply listed to satisfy the ratio on paper. Immigration and labour officials do look at this closely, since a mismatch between the ratio on paper and the reality on the ground is one of the clearest signs of a non-compliant sponsor.
Companies promoted by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) are exempt from both the capital and ratio requirements above, and are processed through a separate, faster one-stop service instead.
A Real, Physical Office
The sponsoring company must operate from a genuine, physical office address that can be inspected. A virtual office or a registered address with no actual working space does not meet this requirement, and is a common reason smaller or newly formed companies get turned down.
Company Documents Required
The employer side of the file generally includes:
Company Registration Certificate, issued by the Department of Business Development (DBD), stating the company's objectives and its director or directors
Certified shareholder list, updated within the last 6 months
VAT registration documents (Phor Por 01, and Phor Por 09 if anything has changed)
The company's most recent financial statements
Tax and withholding filings (PND 1 and PND 1 Kor), showing the Thai employees genuinely on payroll
A business-specific license where relevant, such as a Factory License or Hotel License, if the company's activity requires one
Photographs of the company: the building and sign, the working office space, and the employees at their desks
Photographs of the company's directors together with the foreign employee, in front of the company sign
The Position Itself Has to Qualify
Two separate checks apply to the job itself, on top of everything above:
The role must not be on Thailand's restricted occupations list. This list was significantly narrowed in 2022 and now concentrates on specific traditional trades, such as hand-weaving, mat and basket making, Thai musical instrument making, and lacquerware work, along with longstanding restrictions on tour guiding, and licensed professions like law or accountancy where Thai professional bodies apply their own nationality rules. This list is reviewed periodically, so it is worth confirming the current version with the Department of Employment rather than relying on an older list.
The salary offered must meet the minimum set for the employee's nationality. Nationals of most European countries, along with Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and Japan, need at least 50,000 THB per month. Other nationalities fall into lower bands, down to 25,000 THB, so it is worth confirming the exact figure for your specific nationality with the Department of Employment rather than assuming.
Why This Trips Companies Up
Almost every rejection at this stage traces back to one of a handful of issues: registered capital that falls just short once you count all the foreign employees already sponsored, a Thai staff count that quietly drops below the 4 to 1 ratio after someone resigns, an office address that turns out to be a shared or virtual space when inspected, or a job offer with a salary below the minimum set for that employee's nationality. Each of these is entirely preventable with a proper check beforehand, but each is also a genuine reason for an outright rejection if missed.
How We Help
This part of the process sits with the Ministry of Labour and the Department of Business Development, not with Thai Immigration, and it is generally handled by the employer directly or through their own corporate or labour law advisor, since it involves company registration and tax compliance rather than a personal visa file.
Our own service picks up once your Work Permit and company documents are in order: the annual extension of stay at the immigration office, along with your ongoing 90-Day Reports and TM30 notifications. If you are approaching that stage in Hua Hin, Cha-am, or Pranburi, contact us for free guidance on what to prepare.